Inside Out

The Great Wall of China WORKSHEET A

1. Read the statements about the Great Wall of China.

2. If you think a statement is true, write T. If you think a statement is false, write F.

1. The Great Wall of China was started 1,500 years ago.

2. Construction took 100 years.

3. A total of three million people helped to build it.

4. They were all volunteers.

5. The name of the wall in Chinese means ‘Wall of the Gods’.

6. The Great Wall we can see today was built around 500-600 years ago.

7. On average, the wall is 20 metres high.

8. Only 50% of the Great Wall is still standing today.

9. It is the longest man-made structure in the world.

10. It is possible to see The Great Wall of China from space.

3. Now read about the Great Wall of China on Worksheet B and check your
answers.

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 Inside Out
The Great Wall of China WORKSHEET B

T
he Great Wall of China was started more than 2,000 years ago. Emperor Qin Shi
Huang started a project to join together many small walls in northern China. He
wanted to develop the land in the north and create a barrier against invaders.

Construction took around ten years and resulted in a wall that was nearly 5,000 km long.
This means that around 40 km was built every month. Three million people (nearly 70% of
China’s population at the time) helped to build the wall, although for many it was a
punishment. Instead of going to prison, people were sent to help build the wall for anything
from four to ten years. More than 1 million people died during construction. The wall
became known as Wang-Li Chang Cheng in Chinese, which means ‘The 10,000-Li Long
Wall’ (10,000-Li = 5,000 km).

The next period of great development of the Great Wall was during the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644). The wall that we see today comes mainly from that time. The wall was
strengthened and lengthened (to 7,300 km). On average the wall was made 7.5 m high and
between 4.5 and 9 m thick. Guard stations and watchtowers were placed at regular intervals.

Today only 30% of the Great Wall is still standing. Much of it has been destroyed by nature
and by man. However, it is still the longest man-made structure in the world. In 2003
astronaut Yang Liwei discovered that it is not possible to see the wall from space (as was
previously believed) after orbiting the earth for 21 hours in his spacecraft Shenzou V.

Some rebuilding took place in the 20th century and in 1987 the Great Wall of China was
made a World Heritage Site. Thousands of tourists visit the Great Wall every day – the most
popular site is a portion about 80 km outside of the capital, Beijing.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2004.